Japan
Capital:
Tokyo
Land Area:
364,485km²
Inland Water Area:
13,430km²
Length of Coastline:
29,020km
In Japan, the Basic Act on Ocean Policy was established on 20 April 2007 and enacted on 20 July 2007. This act served as an overarching and cross-cutting policy framework for oceans and coastal areas. Based on the act, the Headquarters for Ocean Policy, which is comprised of a multi-ministry body headed by the Director-General, was established in the Cabinet. The Secretariat of Headquarters for Ocean Policy consists of staff from 8 related ministries. In March 2008, the Basic Plan on Ocean Policy was established in line with the Act. The Plan stipulates 12 major measures that the government should take comprehensively and systematically with regard to the sea. One of the 12 major measures is the comprehensive management of the coastal zones, with includes three major areas of focus:
- Management of coastal zones carried out in an integrated manner with land areas;
- Coordination of activities in the coastal zones; and
Establishment of a coordination system concerning coastal zone management.
All the projects related to the Basic Act on Ocean Act have been collated by the headquarters for the promotion of integrated information management among all concerned ministries. The budget for the various measures under the Basic Plan on Ocean Policy for the 2009 fiscal year amounts to 2.17 trillion Japanese Yen.
In 2013 the Basic Plan on Ocean Policy was revised. On 15 May 2018, the Third Basic Plan on Ocean Policy was adopted by the Cabinet. Key principles for ICM underlined in the Act and the Plan are to promote: ICM by considering local characteristics and assisting local governments; ICM in tandem with terrestrial management; ICM in enclosed coastal sea and; coordinating the use of coastal areas. Since 1958, Japan has also adopted a series of environmental legislation to tackle its worsening water pollution problems. The country introduced numerical targets for reducing the pollutant effluent in designated watershed and coastal areas, with those targets revised every five years since 1984. Significant reductions were achieved in Tokyo Bay, Ise Bay and Setonaikai adjacent to the megapolis of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Other sustainable efforts by Japan include coastal spatial planning, adopting local plans on ocean policy and implementing local initiatives for ICM.
Focal Points:
Mr. Hiroyuki IWAKI
Vice Director-General, Policy Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)
Mr. Atsuki Ito (Operational Focal Point)
Director for International Ocean Affairs, Ocean Policy Division
Policy Bureau, MLIT
Mr. Yasushi Mochizuki
Coordinator for International Ocean Affairs, Ocean Policy Division
Policy Bureau, MLIT
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
2025 MEP Program Planning Workshop
The planning workshop for the 2025 Marine Environment Protector (MEP) Program was conducted on 18-19 March 2025 at Parañaque, Philippines and brought together representatives from MEP partner organizations across six Philippine sites.
Representatives from the four existing MEP program sites presented their 2024 accomplishments and shared lessons learned from implementation. The workshop also served as an introduction for new MEP partners from Bulan and Calbayog who will begin implementation in 2025.
The participants discussed various campaigns and identified effective practices that could be applied across different sites. Together, they drafted comprehensive work plans and timelines aligned with the 2025 implementation guidelines established by the Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU).
The two-day workshop successfully established target outputs for 2025 implementation and developed strategies to effectively impact local communities in their respective sites. Participants focused on ensuring engagement and full support of their respective local government units for proposed marine plastic waste management initiatives.
Proceedings of the 1st Blue Carbon Technical Working Group Meeting
The First Blue Carbon Technical Working Group meeting was held on February 25, 2025, online via video conference (Zoom). The meeting was chaired by the Technical Session Chair and Co-Chair of the East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council (PC) and participated by PEMSEA country partner designated representatives from China and the Philippines; non-country partner representatives from the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service (NMHMS), Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF), Conservation International (CI), Korean Maritime Institute (KMI); PNLC members, Xiamen University, University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI); and other collaborators, such as the China Green Carbon Foundation and OceanPixel.
PEMSEA eBulletin - February 2025
Dear PEMSEA community,
As we step into a new month, we are thrilled to share some remarkable milestones and collaborative efforts that highlight PEMSEA’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability.
The month began with PEMSEA receiving recognition from the DENR-EMB for the strong collaboration particularly through the MOF/PEMSEA ODA Marine Plastics Project in the Philippines. In the Arafura and Timor Seas, representatives from Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste came together in Australia to tackle the ghost net crisis.
Discover how the IRBM Project is fostering transparency and accountability with its new Grievance Redress Mechanism, empowering voices to be heard. Learn more about the data-driven efforts in the Philippines and Timor-Leste, where beach monitoring is shaping policies to tackle marine plastics.
And don’t miss the update from PEMSEA’s inaugural Blue Carbon Technical Working Group meeting, where stakeholders across the region came together to advance the Blue Carbon Roadmap and set the direction of the program.